Does anyone have an Ikea kitchen?

[Bumperstump Cummerbund]

The kitchen in our house was newly renovated with an IKEA kitchen when we moved in. Not sure how much it cost, and apart from some slight peeling on one cabinet door, it's all fine!

As a person who used to work for a cabinetmaker though, I give the following warning - IKEA kitchens are based on one standard kitchen. You'll probably find you need to get benchtops cut down, or they won't be long enough, or your walls won't be dead straight, etc. I know the IKEA kitchens look fabulous and have a great price tag, but you need to really measure up your kitchen and work it out for yourself, and factor in the cost of getting a tradie to make the necessary changes. A lot of reputable cabinetmakers won't have anything to do with an IKEA kitchen, unless its ripping it out, because it just gets too fiddly to work with, and clients are shocked when they realise how much the kitchen is really gonna cost.

Hope that helps

[~Trish~]

Thanks Berenice, that's very good to know! I will let DH know. He wants to put it together himself, but I'm thinking using a cabinet maker might be more practical. I can't be without a kitchen for a long period and a cabinet maker would be able to build a new kitchen faster than my DH could! (Sorry to my my DH if you read this )

[didispunk]

My husband is a cabinet maker so might be very one sided but. He has gone in LOTS i mean at least 1 a month and fix or replace entire kitchens, he said its great they are guranteed for 25 years but no one ever comes out to look inspect and make sure after its installed that everything is in place.. cupboards line up open and close etc.

Now DH wont touch them at all, he said by the time you fix something on one it wrecks something on the next panel. etc.. He said you are paying for what you get.. he said if you want it to last longer then 3 years.. dont bother, as it will cost you more in teh end then its worth.

Get a few cabinet maker companies to do some quotes for you and compare.. you dont need the fanciest door handles etc.. but at least they have proper fabric and material and can get you the same look as IKEA but something that will last.

Good luck

[~Trish~]

Thanks didispunk! I was afraid I might hear something like that. We will definitely get some quotes from cabinet makers too and work out which is the best option.

[Astrid]

I agree go the custom built kitchen. We looked at an Ikea one when we renovated our last house, DH was in the building trade for awhile so he was reasonably capable of putting on in. In the end due to odd walls, needing half size cabinets on one side etc we went the custom kitchen path and it was fantastic. I think cost wise it was not much more expensive than Ikea was going to be. The check and measure guy was a legend, just 1mm out with the bench top and he had measured prior to us taking off the wall tiles, so pretty amazing. Check out showrooms now and then wait, there are some good times of year to be getting good deals on custom kitchens.

[Beach Mama]

Hi Trish!
Lurking as usual and saw your thread and wanted to post to tell you that we recently renovated a house and have an Ikea kitchen and we LOVE it. We got custom made spotted gum timber benchtops which were $$ but that was what we wanted so prepared to pay the extra for them. If your DH isn't too sure about building etc. you can get a qualified person out to fit them properly for you because it is obviously important to have it all squared up right. My DH is a chippy so we didn't need to worry. The Ikea people are pretty helpful as well for pointing out things in your planner that you may not have noticed including saftey specs etc.

Having said that, we also had a quote from Yarra Valley Cabinet Makers (google ) in Kilsyth who were super helpful, friendlyand the price from them was very similar but it was a 6-8 week turnaround which we didn't have. PM me if you want some photos of what ours looks like! Hope some of that helps ~ good luck!

[~Trish~]

Thanks Astrid, I will definitely look into other avenues

Hi Tan! Thanks for your advice, it's great to hear from someone who has an Ikea kitchen . I'd love to see some pics! It must be so handy having a DH who is a chippy! Mine is an engineer and would measure it to perfection LOL. Thanks for the recommendation too, we will definitely give them a call.

Thanks Pandora

[Pandora]

My husband is a cabinet maker so might be very one sided but. He has gone in LOTS i mean at least 1 a month and fix or replace entire kitchens, he said its great they are guranteed for 25 years but no one ever comes out to look inspect and make sure after its installed that everything is in place.. cupboards line up open and close etc.

Now DH wont touch them at all, he said by the time you fix something on one it wrecks something on the next panel. etc.. He said you are paying for what you get.. he said if you want it to last longer then 3 years.. dont bother, as it will cost you more in teh end then its worth.

Get a few cabinet maker companies to do some quotes for you and compare.. you dont need the fanciest door handles etc.. but at least they have proper fabric and material and can get you the same look as IKEA but something that will last.

Good luck

I have heard similar from more than one cabinet maker. They said they are a great option if you plan to renovate and sell within 2-3 years but for the long term, to look at something else.